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12:00 AM, March 02, 2018 / LAST MODIFIED: 12:35 AM, March 02, 2018
Pull back right now
Bangladesh asks Myanmar as its troops gather near zero line; tension heightened
Myanmar yesterday deployed a huge contingent of its army with heavy weapons along the Tombru border with Bangladesh, creating panic among the Rohingyas staying on the adjacent no-man's land.
Frightened, some of the refugees entered the Bangladesh territory.
Terming the army deployment a violation of border norms, Border Guard Bangladesh also increased its strength along the border at Bandarban's Naikhyangchhari to "face any circumstances".
The move from the Myanmar army came 10 days after the country had agreed to take back the Rohingyas from the no-man's land.
In another development, Dhaka yesterday afternoon summoned the Myanmar ambassador Lwin Oo and asked for pulling back the Myanmar troops immediately.
Some 6,500 Rohingyas had been living on the no-man's land near the Bangladeshi village of Konapara since they fled their homes fearing persecution in Rakhine.
Roughly, half of the people staying in makeshift camps on the border line, had moved to camps inside Bangladesh after the two countries met to discuss possible repatriation on February 20, Reuters reported yesterday.
Nearly 700,000 Rohingyas fled Myanmar and entered Bangladesh after insurgent attacks on August 25 sparked a military crackdown that the United Nations has said amounted to ethnic cleansing, with reports of arson attacks, murder and rape.
Meanwhile, Maj Iqbal Ahmed, second-in-command of BGB Battalion-34 in Cox's Bazar, said some Myanmar security forces' members shot a blank fire around 7:50pm following an altercation with some Rohingyas on the no-man's land.
The altercation took place after some of the members hurled abuse at the Rohingyas. The Myanmar troops retreated soon after opening the fire, he said.
PANIC ON NO-MAN'S LAND
Shamsul Alam, who came to Bangladesh from the no-man's-land along with his four family members yesterday, said at least 400 to 500 army men had come near the border fence in the morning.
"Some of them even tried to cross the fence with ladders but they couldn't because of BGB's presence on the Bangladesh's side,” he told The Daily Star yesterday evening over phone.
MYANMAR HAS VIOLATED BORDER NORMS: BGB
At a press conference in Dhaka yesterday, the BGB expressed concerns over the heavy deployment of army along the border. It said the Myanmar has violated border norms.
"A number of Rohingya people took shelter on the zero line near Konabari area of Naikhyangchhari upazila. Centering the issue, Myanmar deployed additional forces of army and BGP equipped with arms, which is out of the border norms," said Brig Gen Mojibur Rahman, additional director general (operation and training) of the paramilitary forces.
He said BGB has called upon the Myanmar authorities for holding a border-level flag meeting. He said the BGB also increased its manpower.
PULL BACK ARMY IMMEDIATELY: FOREIGN MINISTRY
The Foreign ministry summoned the Myanmar Ambassador in Dhaka Lwin Oo yesterday afternoon.
During the meeting, Acting Foreign Secretary Khurshid Alam conveyed concerns of Bangladesh on the military buildup around the border pillar-34 near the Tombru border.
Khurshid also conveyed to the Myanmar ambassador that such military build-up would create confusions within Bangladesh and escalate tensions on the border, said a foreign ministry press release.
He told the ambassador to convey the message to the Myanmar authorities for immediate pull back of the Myanmar security forces along with military assets from the area.
The acting foreign secretary also expressed concerns that such an event may hamper the Rohingya repatriation process, which both sides agreed to implement. A diplomatic note on the subject was handed over to the ambassador.
ROHINGYAS ON ZERO LINE NOT TO BE ALLOWED IN: HOME MINISTER
Rohingyas stuck in no-man's land along the Tombru border will not be allowed to enter Bangladesh, said Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal.
He made the comment while addressing the concluding parade of 91 recruit batch of BGB at the ground of Baitul Izzat training centre in Satkania upazila of Chittagong.
“We will not allow the Rohingyas to enter Bangladesh. BGB is keeping a keen eye on the border,” he added.
http://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/pull-back-right-now-1542325
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Bangladesh
Myanmar soldiers fire shots near Rohingya camp at Bangladesh border after Dhaka protests
Shankar Barua Rumi, Cox’s Bazar Correspondent
bdnews24.com
Published: 2018-03-01 23:32:39.0 BdST Updated: 2018-03-02 00:06:23.0 BdST
Hours after Dhaka protested against additional troops deployment by Myanmar at the border, the Burmese soldiers have fired shots in the air, Border Guard Bangladesh or BGB says.
The members of Myanmar’s Border Guard Police or BGP fired two shots in the air on their side of the Tambru border at Naikkhyangchharhi in Bandarban around 8pm on Thursday, BGB 34 Battalion Commander Lt Col Manjurul Hasan told
bdnews24.com.
“We also heard a hullabaloo in the Rohingya camp on the zero line at the time. No one was injured,” he said.
He added they have informed their superiors about the incident.
The BGB is on high alert after the Myanmar mobilised additional troops on the border and asked the around 7,000 Rohingyas to leave the no man’s land on Tambru border on Thursday morning.
The foreign ministry summoned the Myanmar ambassador in Dhaka in the afternoon and asked him to roll back the heavy military presence along the border.
The ministry told the ambassador to request the Myanmar authorities for an immediate withdrawal of Myanmar security forces along with military assets from the area.
It said such military buildup will create confusion in Bangladesh and escalate tensions on the border.
Ghumdhum union council chairman Md Zahangir Aziz Chowdhury told
bdnews24.com the shooting by the Myanmar soldiers has triggered fresh concerns in the area.
Mohammad Arif, a representative of the Rohingyas staying in the no man’s land on Tambru border, told
bdnews24.com the BGP personnel aimed their weapons at the Rohingyas in the morning and asked them to leave the area.
He alleged the Myanmar soldiers also tried to enter the Rohingya camp by crossing the barbed-wire fence.
The Myanmar troopers took away their heavy weaponry when BGB strengthened presence in the afternoon, he added.
https://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/201...amp-at-bangladesh-border-after-dhaka-protests
International media picked on-
https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...eecfa8741b6_story.html?utm_term=.352424d9edba
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-03/01/c_137009233.htm